Within the first 17 minutes, it was all over and the three points were in the kitty of visiting Arsenal of England, who beat hosts Montpellier of France after recovering from shaky start. The match ended 2-1 against the tournament debutants.
Montpellier drew the first blood in the 8 min via a Belhanda penalty given after Vermaelen fouled Belhanda as he danced down the side of the penalty area.
Arsenal were back on level terms in 15 minutes after Lukas Podolski ghosted into a vantage position to left-foot past goalie Joudren after a tap-in from Giroud.
The work was as good as done two minutes later after Gervinho, unmarked in the Montpellier goal area.
Other Results
Dortmund 1 – 0 Ajax
Dinamo Zagreb 0 – 2 Porto
AC Milan 0 – 0 Anderlecht
Montpellier 1 – 2 Arsenal
Malaga 3 – 0 Zenit
Olympiakos 1 – 2 Schalke
Paris SG 4 – 1 Dynamo Kyiv
Real Madrid 3 – 2 Man City
Matches for Wednesday, September 19
Barcelonav.Spartak M.
Bayern Munichv.Valencia
Celticv.Benfica
Chelseav.Juventus
Lillev.BATE Borisov
Man Utdv.Galatasaray
Shakhtar Donetskv.FC Nordsjælland
Sporting Bragav.CFR Cluj
*Photo: Podolski (left) celebrates a goal.
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